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SH Kelkar files prospectus for IPO, seen at around $100 mln

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Fragrance maker S.H. Kelkar and Company, partly owned by Blackstone Group, has filed a draft prospectus with the regulator for an initial public offering that a banker directly involved in the process said would fetch around $100 million

New pandemic insurance to prevent crises through early payouts

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - In the wake of the Ebola crisis, a quiet revolution is taking place that is set to transform the way governments and aid agencies respond to major disease outbreaks. Analysts are developing insurance schemes that could turn the humanitarian system on its head, by paying out money as soon as a disease breaks out to stop it becoming an international crisis, rather than trying to raise funds after the event. The World Bank, the African Union, a consortium of aid agencies and experts in the private sector are starting to do the sums and figure out what such schemes could look like

Wall Street lower in wake of air strikes on Yemen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell at the open on Thursday to put the S&P 500 on track for a fourth straight decline, after Saudi Arabia and its allies launched air strikes on Yemen. Oil prices spiked, with Brent crude up 2.4 percent to $57.86 and U.S

U.S. DEA agents had sex parties funded by drug cartels - watchdog

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents in an unnamed country had alleged "sex parties" with prostitutes funded by local drug cartels over several years, according to a report published on Thursday by the Justice Department's internal watchdog. The 10 agents - an assistant regional director and nine special agents - had the alleged parties "at government-leased headquarters," and three of the special agents "were provided money, expensive gifts, and weapons from drug cartel members," according to the report

U.S. jury says Motorola infringed one Intellectual Ventures patent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Patent holding company Intellectual Ventures' second crack at holding Motorola Mobility liable for using its technology without permission partially succeeded on Wednesday after a U.S.

U.S.-led coalition, Iraqis pound Islamic State in Tikrit

BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led coalition aircraft launched strikes against Islamic State targets in Tikrit on Wednesday, officials said, coming off the sidelines to support Iraqi forces battling alongside Iran-backed Shi'ite militia as they resumed their stalled offensive. The decision to give air support to the Tikrit campaign represents the biggest collaboration so far by the U.S.-led coalition, Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed paramilitaries and opens a new chapter in the war. It also appeared to represent at least a tacit acknowledgement by Baghdad that such airpower was necessary to wrest control of the hometown of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from Islamic State fighters, after its attempts to go it alone stalled.

Wall St. drops as biotechs, semis stumble

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S.

Cockpit voice tape hoped to unravel Airbus crash riddle

SEYNE-LES-ALPES/PARIS (Reuters) - Investigators have retrieved cockpit voice recordings from one of the black boxes of the German Airbus plane that smashed into the Alps, killing everyone onboard, and they expect a preliminary read-out of their content in days, an official said on Wednesday. The development came as French President Francois Hollande, Germany's Angela Merkel and Spain's Mariano Rajoy travelled to the crash site in a remote French Alpine region to pay tribute to the 150 victims, mostly Germany and Spanish. However, while Hollande promised that authorities would not rest until the causes of the crash were known, France's BEA air incident investigation bureau said it was still far too early to draw meaningful conclusions on why the plane, operated by the Germanwings budget arm of Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ), went down.

New Afghan president warns of 'terrible threat' from Islamic State

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Afghanistan's new president, Ashraf Ghani, warned U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday of the "terrible threat" the Islamic State poses in central and western Asia, and said the militant group is already sending fighters to his country

UK's Cameron: Alternatives to Iran nuclear deal 'not attractive'

LONDON (Reuters) - The alternatives to striking a nuclear deal with Iran are not attractive, British Prime Minister David Cameron warned on Monday, while saying a pact with Tehran should not be reached at any price. "Obviously we should not do a deal at any price, but I do think the alternatives to doing a deal are not alternatives that are attractive and frankly they are not attractive for Iran," Cameron told the British parliament. "The sanctions that we have put in place ...